This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
In the following description and accompanying Claims, the term “door” is used broadly speaking to indicate any member movable between an open position and a closed position respectively opening and closing an access opening to an inner compartment of a vehicle, and therefore also includes boot and bonnet lids and rear hatches, in addition to the side doors of vehicles referred to in the description purely by way of example.
As is known, the vehicle doors normally comprise a frame-like top portion defining a window frame closed by a movable window when this is raised, and a box-like bottom portion comprising an outer panel and an inner panel joined at one end by an end edge and defining in between a cavity normally housing the window, when this is lowered, and various component parts fixed to the panels, such as a latch and a window regulating device.
A conventional latch typically includes a supporting body fixed to the vehicle door, a striker fixed to a frame of the vehicle door, a closure assembly carried by the supporting body and adapted to releasably engage the striker, and a release mechanism which is operatively connected to an outer handle of the door and can be selectively activated to release the closure assembly from the striker. More in detail, the closure assembly includes a ratchet which defines an open cylindrical seat, and a pawl. The ratchet is elastically loaded toward an opening position in which the ratchet enables engagement and disengagement between the striker and the seat of the ratchet. Furthermore, the ratchet is rotatably movable between the opening position and a closing position in which the ratchet holds the striker and prevents the disengagement of the striker from the closure assembly. The pawl is elastically loaded toward the ratchet for keeping the ratchet in the closing position. However, the pawl may be moved away from the ratchet by the release mechanism so as to allow the ratchet to elastically return to the opening position.
One conventional latch is known from EP-A-1371799, in which the release mechanism includes an extension lever which is operatively connected to the outer handle of the door, and a release lever which is hinged to the extension lever and can move from a latched position into an unlatched position when the outer handle of the door is flexed. When the ratchet is in the closing position, the release lever is in the latched position and is disengaged from the pawl. When the outer handle is flexed and the release lever moves from the latched position to the unlatched position, an end portion of the release lever moves the pawl away from the ratchet so as to allow the ratchet to return in the opening position. The release mechanism also includes an inertia actuated lever which is operatively coupled to the release lever for securing the release lever in the latched position. In greater detail, the inertia lever is hinged to a frame of the latch and comprises a detent tab for selectively engaging the release lever in the latched position. In a normal situation, the inertia lever is arranged in a release position, in which the detent tab is offset from the release lever in order to allow the release lever to move from the latched position to the unlatched position in response to activation of the outside handle. However, in case of collision, the inertia lever moves from the release position to a blocking position in which the detent tab blocks the release lever and prevents it from moving from the latched position into the unlatched position.
Improvements and alternatives to such inertia type latches are desirable.